Tuesday, 29 September 2009

IOC ANNOUNCES VIDEO CONTEST WINNERS

The International Olympic Committee today announced the winners of a video contest requiring entrants to produce predictions on the future of the Olympic Games. Vanessa Lee of Canada and Lee Kang-Eun of South Korea will be rewarded for their winning submissions with a free trip to the Olympic Congress in Copenhagen.

Vanessa Lee, an aspiring Olympic archer, offered her vision of the future in a “live” report from the 2024 Games. Lee Kang-Eun delivered a heartfelt tribute to the positive power of sport.

The IOC sponsored the video contest with help from Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and other Olympians who called for submissions in a series of video challenges posted on the IOC’s web site in August.

“I want to know what you think the future of the Olympics is going to be. Seriously,” Bolt said. French archer Berangere Schuh, British BMX champion Shanaze Reade, Jamaican hurdler Melaine Walker, British boxer James Degale and British runner Dame Kelly Holmes also participated.

More than 200 people responded by uploading videos to the Olympic Congress site on YouTube before the contest closed on 22 September. More than 20,000 people from around the world have visited the site.

The video contest is part of the IOC’s expanded use of digital technology to promote Olympic values to a broader audience, especially young people. The outreach includes efforts to encourage two-way communication.

“The video contest was another way for people to share their opinions in advance of our Olympic Congress in Copenhagen,” said IOC President Jacques Rogge. “We want to hear what people have to say. We also want to use all the tools at our disposal to reach young people.”

Contest winner Vanessa Lee, who lives in Toronto, posed in her video as a competitor at “the 2024 Games in Sierra Leone.” She predicted that developing nations would dominate Olympic sport by then.

The other winner, Lee Kang-Eun, predicted that the Olympic Games would help make the dream of global harmony a reality by 2024. Lee is from Seoul, but she is currently studying sports marketing in Rennes, France, in pursuit of her goal of becoming an IOC member.

The messages from Bolt and the other Olympians are here, along with other video submissions.

Although the video contest ended on 22 September, the IOC is encouraging video submissions by anyone who would like to share their opinion. Videos can be uploaded at http://www.youtube.com/olympiccongress.

Please call the IOC press office to arrange an interview with either of the contest winners.

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